Apparatus for making sulfuric acid.



. Patented June 26 I900. N. P. PRATT.v APPARATUS FOR MAKING SULFURIC ACID.

Appficntion filed Apr. 27, .1897.)

(N0 Model.)

WW ILL! {I M il if i a i w MW W NATHANIEL P. PRATT, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

APPARATUS FORMAKING SULFURIC ACID.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,689, dated June 26, 1900.

Application filed April 2 7, 1 8 9'7,

To (.tZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL P. PRATT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Sulfuric Acid '5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the manufacture of sulfuric acid.

In a patent granted to me upon a process of and apparatus for making sulfuric acid, dated September 1'7, 1895, and numbered 54,15,596, I have illustrated an apparatus by which the gases from any part of the system toward the rear are withdrawn and reintroduced to another part of the system, toward the front thereof, in such manner as to be presented to the regular draft, but without interference therewith. I have found by experiments that I can withdraw a part of the gases from any portion of the system and reintroduce them at another portion in a direction directly opposite to and against the ordinary draft in connection with the gases from the furnace or Glover tower and pro duce highlysatisfactory and advantageous results.

The object of the invention istherefore, briefly stated, to effect rapid and continuous circulation of the chambergases of a sulfuric-acid system by withdrawing a portion thereof, as by a mechanicalexhauster, and reintroducing the gases so withdrawn backinto the system in a direction directly opposite to and against the ordinary draft, and, furthermore, to circulate the chamber-gases by withdrawing a portion of the same bya suitable exhauster and reintroducing them into the system in a direction directly opposite to and against the ordinary draft, in combination with the gases delivering from the furnace or Glover tower, by a fan or exhauster located in the Glover flue or a similar fan or exhauster located in the exit-flue or any other similar flue through which the gases travel on their ordinary way to the exit, which latter fan shall have sufficient power to over Serial No. 634,127. (No model.)

come the first fans motion lar draft.

With these obj ects in view, gen erally stated, the invention consists in reversing the course of the circulation of a sulfuric-acid system and then, by way of overcoming the consequent interference with the ordinarydraft, placing a fan capable of exerting greater pressure than that exerted by the draft in any flue through which the gases must travel on their way to the exit.

Specifically stated, the invention. consists in withdrawing the gases from any part of the system (top, bottom, end, or sides) and reintroducing them to another part of the system, at the top, bottom, end, or sides; furthermore, in combining this manner of circulation with an artificial draft produced by a fan or exhauster located in the Glover flue or in the exit flue above the Gay-Lussac tower or in any of the connecting-fines of the system through which the gases travel on their way out; furthermore, in circulating the gases from the back to the front of the system or from the front to the back in the same chamber or between two or more con nected chambers; furthermore, in the employment of packed columns or towers 1ocated to the rear or outside of the line of the circulating arrangement and also the driving or drawing of the gases after being mixed by the exhauster and on their way out against the precipitating surfaces of the packed columns by fans or exhausters located in the furnace-flue or Glover fine or in a flue above the Gay-Lussac tower or in any part of the connecting-fines through which the gases pass or are forced on their way out, and, finally, in employing comminuting-columns or converting-surfaces in the chambers and also the interposition of converters between the withdrawal and the discharge end of the circulating-fiues.

against the regu In the accompanying drawings, forming a 5 part of this specification, and in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts,I have illustrated the requisite elements of a sulfuric-acid plant pertaining to thisinvention, and in the said drawings,-Figure 1 is a view in elevation, partly in section. Fig. 2 is a View in plan of a part of the plant.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the furnace; B, the miter-oven; O, the Glover tower; D, the Gay-Lussac tower, and E the acidchamber. As these parts may be of the'commonly-employed constructions, a detailed description of them is deemed unnecessary.

The acid-chamber E may-be either a single chamber or two or more chambers connected by a flue or passage, as c, as preferred, and may have arranged therein a plurality of comminuting or converting surfaces F, against which the gases will contact on their entry and be precipitated. In any portion of the chamber there may be located a converter G, which may be packed with suitable preciph tating surfaces, as usual, and is provided with an escape-pipe 9 through which the sulfuric-acid as generated may flow to the chamber-pan; but it is to be understood'that this converter may in some instances be dispensed with. Connecting with the chamber at a point near its rear and in this instance over the converter G is a flue H, which leads downward and enters the acid-chamber, in this instance from beneath and near its front, and extendsupward therein and terminates at or near the plane of the discharge-mouth of the flue E from the Glover tower, and ata point intermediate of the ends of this flue and communicating therewith is a casing 1, containinga fan or blower driven by any suitable power. At a point near the rear of the chamber and connecting in this instance with thelower portion of the converter G is a flue K, constituting in effect a continuation of the flue H, as it will be seen that there is a continuous passage for gases from the inlet-mouth of this flue K up through the converter G, flue H, and fan-casing I to the front of the acid-chamber; but, as before stated, the converter G may be omitted and the flues H and K be. connected to constitute a continuous passage-way. Located adjacent to the chamber E is what may be termed a cooling-chamber ?"L,which-may be made in two or more sections and in any suitable manner, and in this chamber may be arranged precipitating-col umns M, similar to those in the acid-chamber E. This cooling-chamber may be connected with the rear portion of the acid-chamber through a column or tower N,provided with an escape-pipe n and packed, like the converters, with-suitable precipitating bodies or surfaces, against which the gases mixed by the exhauster-circulation are forced or drawn .by theartiflcial draft created by either a fan 0 in a flue from the furnace,a fan P in the flue from the Glover tower, a fan Q in the flue entering the intermediate column N, a fan R in the flue leading from the intermediate column Nand connecting with the chamber L, a fan S in-the flue S connecting the rear portion" of the apparatus with the Gay-Lussac or to the exit, or a fan T in thelexit-flue above the Gay-Lussac tower.

It is to be understood that the circulation direction and that the connections of this flue with the chamber or chambers may be in either the top, bottom, side, or ends of the same.

The necessary water may be added to the system either by steam-jets U, entering the chambers or theflues or the converters, or

by showering water or weak acid through the converters in the ordinary way, as from a tank g, supplied with water or acid in any convenient manner, or through the packed intermediate column N, or by all of these procedures.

It will be seen from the description that the gases entering through the flue E connecting the Glover tower and the acid-chamber, are met by the gases drawn from the rear portion of the chamber and introduced to the front of the chamber through the flue H; but itis to be understood that interference with the ordinary or induced draft is overcome by having any one of the fans in the. flues mentioned stronger than the fan which draws the gases from the furnace to the acid-chamber.

Otherwise there would be no circulation, and

the materials would simply remain inactive in the chambers. It is alse to be understood that a steam-injector or gas-pump may be employed in lieu of the exhausters or fans in every position where the latter are used and produce the same result as the exh'austers. While I have shown but. three columns F and M in the chambers E and L, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to this fan located to the rear of the first fan, and a flue connecting the rear portion of the chamber with the front portion thereof, and dis charging against the freshly-entering materials, substantially as described.

, 2. A'sulfuric-acid plant, comprising an {acid-chamber, a flue leading therefrom, and. connecting with the generator of the acidmaking. materials, a fan'in. the flue, a second fan located to the rear of the first fan, a flue connecting the rear portion of the chamber with the front portionthereof, and discharg ing against the freshly-enteringmaterials, and comminuting-columns in the chamber,- substantially as described.

3. A sulfuric-acid plant, comprising anv acid-chamber, a flue leading therefrom, andconnecting with the generatorrof the acidmaking materials, a fan in the flue, asecond fan located to the rear of the first fan, a flue connecting the rear portion of the chamber with the front portion thereof, and discharging against the freshly-entering materials, comminuting-columns in the chamber, an exit fiue at the rear portion of the chamber, and a fan in the flue, substantially as de scribed.

4. A sulfuric-acid plant, comprising a suitable generator, an acid-chamber, a flue connecting the chamber and the generator, blast mechanism in the flue, a return-flue, includin g blast mechanism, connecting the rear portion of the chamber with the front portion thereof, and discharging across the line of discharge of the flue connecting the generator and the chamber, and comminuting-columns in the acid-chamber in rear of the discharge end of the return-flue, substantially as described.

5. A sulfuric-acid plant, comprising a suitable generator, and a plurality of connected chambers in communication therewith, comminuting-columns in the chambers, converters located toward the rear of the chambers and in communication therewith, and returnfiues including blast mechanism, connecting the converters and the front acid-chamber,

substantially as described.

6. A sulfuric-acid plant, comprising a suit able generator and a plurality of acid-chambers, the whole being connected byflues, comminuting columns in the chambers, convert ers located toward the rear of the chambers, and in communication therewith, returnflues, including blast mechanism, connecting the converters and the first acid-chamber,

erator, a Glover tower, a Gay-Lussa'c tower, a

plurality of acid-chambers, flues connecting these parts together, comminutingcolumns in the chambers, converters located toward the rear of the chambers, and in communica tion therewith, return-fines, including blast mechanism, connecting the converters and the first acid-chamber, a cooling-chamber located' in the rear of the last acid-chamber, comminuting-columns in the said latter chamber, a converter arranged between these two last-named chambers and connected by flues therewith, and blast mechanism in the tines connecting the respective parts of the apparatus, and in the exit-flue above the Gay- Lussac tower, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NATHANIEL P. PRATT. Witnesses:

W. P. HEATH, J. E. PRATT, 

